


in whispered press

by EmotionalSupportPuma



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Developing Friendships, F/F, Fluff and Humor, Pining, Slow Dancing, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:54:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26463730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmotionalSupportPuma/pseuds/EmotionalSupportPuma
Summary: Lilith doesn't quite know how to approach her feelings for Tannis and a unique opportunity presents itself.
Relationships: Lilith/Patricia Tannis
Comments: 6
Kudos: 20





	in whispered press

**Author's Note:**

> title is a lyric from drop the guillotine by peach pit, and yeah i chose that bc the next lyric is "her lips said yes, dance with me"

Dealing with affection from a distance wasn't something she'd ever equipped herself to handle.

Lilith could liken herself to fire in many, many ways. It paid to have a brand, after all, and the Firehawk was someone who always burned hard and fast. Subtlety just didn't make a lot of sense. Especially not on a planet like Pandora, where if you waited too long to pursue your feelings, the person you cared about might just get eaten by skags before you got a chance with them. So, making a statement and being bold had always been Lilith's go-to method of courtship. 

But what was she supposed to do in a situation like this? For one thing, romance had been the absolute  _ last  _ thing on her mind for several years now. After everything that had happened and her new responsibilities in keeping the Crimson Raiders afloat, it simply wasn't smart to go out looking for someone. Perhaps the old Lilith would have heaped that trouble onto her plate without a second thought, but she'd done a lot of growing. It was weird to think about just how stuffy and boring she'd had to become. And with that responsibility came an unexpected friendship. 

Yes, she'd always have Brick and Mordecai in a pinch, but they'd stepped up to raise Tina. Maya had gone back to Athenas, Krieg isolated himself out in the wilds of Pandora. Zer0 started working for Atlas. And the rest of the Vault Hunters from their time flitted in and out of Sanctuary with the propensity of long-haul truckers. She never quite knew when they'd show up again, but it was rarely for long. 

One of the few people who stayed by her side day-to-day was Patricia Tannis. Of course, the main reason for that would have been her lab being in Sanctuary and a Vault Key too. Lilith hadn't expected to ever be friends with her, or for anyone to  _ really _ , but it wasn't surprising with how much time they had ended up spending together. Even the stress-induced nosebleeds rarely occurred anymore, unless Lilith fucked up and pushed her a bit too far over the line of "being social". They were making huge improvements, honestly.

Which was probably the reason that these sort of feelings cropped up in the first place. It was hard to see someone grow like Tannis had and  _ not _ end up with that prideful fondness, the  _ 'I helped them do this, I was there for them and now look!' _ thoughts. She looked at Tannis, talking to her as though they were just two normal people, and knew why Roland had brought her to Sanctuary in the first place. This had been good for her,  _ safe _ for her. Lilith was so oddly protective of her now. She was tough, she had to be to survive through everything she did, but Lilith knew that only one of them was  _ prepared _ to dish out violence the instant it was needed. 

So, Lilith and Tannis had become tentative acquaintances and then friends and now...well, they were still surprisingly close. She wasn't sure if she could call herself Tannis' best friend if there was nobody else in the running for that title and Tannis most likely wouldn't appreciate it if she did try to say that aloud. But they were very close, which was the part that mattered in the grand scheme of things. 

It was also the part that had led Lilith into thinking about what being even closer than that would entail. First in little ways; Tannis actually catching a joke she made and letting out a startled, completely undignified snort. The way her cheeks heated up in turn left her scrambling to think of more humor that Tannis would understand and she'd been so,  _ so _ in denial even then.  _ I just want her to feel included,  _ Lilith had insisted to herself,  _ nobody else would make the effort for her and that's not fair _ . Looking back made her wish she could just take that old Lilith and shake her by the shoulders until she accepted it. There'd have been way less sleepless nights pondering her own distracted thoughts that way. But in a way, perhaps that had been for the best, allowing the two of them to become friends before anything more than that. 

The acceptance had come later, after a particularly stressful encounter where Tannis had nearly gotten herself scalped by a clan of bandits. It had taken everything in her power not to tear up as soon as the last body hit the ground and she sprinted back to her friend. Lilith was made quite suddenly and unceremoniously aware of the extent her feelings had reached. For a moment the prospect of possibly losing Tannis had left her gutted. Her friend hadn't noticed, of course, rather affronted by Lilith's sudden clinginess that day. 

Since that point she'd tread far more carefully around the line that lay between their friendship and her feelings. Tannis wasn't the kind of person she could flirt with or beat around the bush, but neither could she come right out and proposition her. Yeah, they might've slept together if she did, in fact she could easily imagine it being labeled as some sort of scientific experiment. Lilith had avoided her feelings for too long, however, and something so casual wasn't what she wanted. But trying to  _ seriously  _ court Tannis wouldn't be an easy feat.

Part of her disliked the entire situation. When had Tannis ever shown interest in romance? In finding a partner? For all she knew, trying to broach the subject might just get her to laugh in Lilith's face, if she didn't vomit over the idea. She didn't even like being around other humans, for fucks sake. Not to mention what would happen if they did get together, but things ended poorly. So, for the better part of two years, Lilith had simply swallowed her feelings to save them both from the possible fallout of them. It was so utterly uncharacteristic of her. At least she could find solace in the fact that nobody else had caught on and, therefore, couldn't tease her over it. 

From where she sat currently, the line between felt more blurred than ever. Just the two of them, alone, with the entire room between them. Tannis meticulously studying the Vault key for the umpteenth time since they'd gotten it. Lilith...trying very hard not to get caught watching her do that. It wasn't all that difficult, really, given how engrossed the other woman was in her work. Progress had been frustratingly slow for every party involved with this Vault key. There were scarcely any people  _ except _ Tannis who understood the artifacts to a useful degree and even then, she'd recently gained her own Siren abilities. Which was an ordeal in and of itself, taking up valuable time as she learned how to live with this new version of herself. 

As frustrating as the whole business had been, Lilith found it hard to be  _ too _ upset on evenings like this. It was a rare gift to be allowed in Tannis' presence while she worked. Perhaps she got the honor more often than other people, but she still appreciated that they'd gotten to this point in their relationship. Even the simple act of breathing too loudly could be a serious infraction if Tannis didn't particularly want you around. And her wanting you around was an even rarer phenomenon still.

Every so often the tattoos on her left arm would light up with a brightness that Lilith couldn't quite look at dead-on. Her own powers were similar when in use, although the light tended to lean more to the side of pale yellow or orange, rather than Tannis' blinding white. That was something she noticed with Maya as well, whose tattoos would shine with just the slightest hint of blue. Before this, Lilith had honestly kind of assumed they took after the color of their owners eyes, but that couldn't be the case with Tannis. Perhaps something tied to the powers themselves instead. However, analyzing Sirens and their differences as a whole wasn't quite her thing.

"Why are you doing that?"

Lilith startled out of her thoughts and coughed to hide her embarrassment, "Doing what?"

"Staring at me." Tannis wrinkled her nose, "You know that kind of thing makes my skin itch."

"Are you forbidding me from looking at you now?"

"If I must."

"Alright, alright." She tossed up her hands in defeat, "Just didn't have anything better to do."

Which was a blatant lie. Lilith had begrudgingly learned to take charge of Sanctuary and the list of things that needed a watchful eye was staggering. Even this evening she could think of at least a dozen places that she could show up, whether to move things along more with her own two hands, or simply to make some decisive orders that others didn't want to come to on their own. But, fuck, responsibility could be unbearably boring and sometimes Lilith just wanted a night to herself. Before that might have meant an evening spent drinking at Moxxi's. Which was, admittedly, a tempting choice even now.

Instead she'd holed herself up in this room with Tannis, a person that she'd grown far more attached to than she could have ever predicted. Content to spend the night bored out of her mind, but  _ so _ close to her. Lilith closed her eyes and leaned her head back while she fought off a laugh. When had she gotten so  _ soft _ ? It was ridiculous and so unlike her, but for some reason it still wasn't wholly unwanted. She'd need to figure out a new method of courtship. A hassle, really, but when had the Firehawk backed away from a challenge? Stubbornness was something both of them had in spades. 

Suddenly the small radio to Lilith's right crackled to life and she nearly jumped out of her skin. She eyed it warily, as stray sparks fizzled from at least two different gashes in the metal. The damn thing hadn't worked in months, but it chose now to spring to life? Lilith narrowed her eyes at it. Out of her peripheral vision she vaguely noticed Tannis glance her way a few times as she inspected the radio. Something clicked in the back of her mind and she spun around.

"Was that you?" She asked, jerking her thumb at the radio.

Tannis squinted for a few moments, as if deciding on whether or not to deny it, before giving her a stiff nod.

"Why?"

"So that it would play something. Why else would one turn on a radio?"

Lilith shook her head, "You hate music."

"That I do." The other Siren sighed and looked up from her work, "But  _ you _ seem to enjoy indulging in that kind of wasteful thing and I thought it might...what is the phrase? Cheer you up?"

This was enough to startle a response clean out of her mind. Tannis wasn't the kind of person to do something that irked her just to make someone else feel better. Most of the time you couldn't convince her to do something like that even with the most tantalizing of incentives, stubborn and wary as an injured skag at the best of times. Lilith didn't want to read into this action, but really, it was kind of hard not to. Why would Tannis do something she  _ hated _ just for her? It was hard to fight the smile pulling at the corner of crimson lips. 

"Thank you." She said carefully, before tilting her head to the side, "That's sweet of you."

Tannis grimaced, "Sweet? That was not what I intended it to be."

"It's a good thing, Tannis. People do sweet things for their friends."

"I don't have friends." She insisted, cheeks lighting up a pleasant shade of pink.

"Mm, you don't have a say in this. You did a friendly thing  _ and  _ you're spending time with me right now. I think we're friends."

Tannis glared at her, giving off the impression that she deeply regretted that spontaneous act of thoughtfulness. And yet the music continued to split the silence in a staticy, disjointed rhythm. The longer it remained on, the smoother it gradually became. It sounded like some sort of pop song. Lilith couldn't place it, though, and quickly grew bored of it. Fidgeting with the dials was a slow process, as they only seemed to work every five or so tries. All the while Tannis continued to glance at her. A curious study even over the things Lilith would have thought she'd call mundane and trivial. Maybe it only mattered because  _ she  _ was doing it?

Or maybe the other Siren was simply trying to understand what possessed others to enjoy music. She'd grimace at some songs and seemed wholly apathetic to the majority of them. There was at least one song that caught Tannis' attention, something with a brassy jazz lilt, but it ended swiftly and left them back at square one. And then a golden opportunity presented itself, as a slow dancing song began to play next. 

Now, that wasn't exactly the kind of music Lilith enjoyed, nor sought out to listen to. In fact she could barely manage that kind of dance on a good day. She'd never admit it, but Lilith preferred the disjointed rhythm of a good techno song for a singular reason: she was a terrible dancer. At least with something like that the jerky movements seemed like they were  _ supposed  _ to happen. Seriously, she was the worst. But...Tannis probably wouldn't recognize that fact and couldn't be much better herself, right? This growing softness had really taken hold this evening.

"Hey-" Lilith moved over to the table and tapped her fingers on it absently, "have you ever danced before?"

Tannis just looked at her as if she'd lost her mind and pulled the most regretful looking frown possible.

"Don't make that face, it's a serious question."

"Surely even  _ you _ can infer that answer yourself." She said, as the corners of her mouth only fell further in their dismay, "If you ask me to dance-"

Lilith interrupted before the undoubted threat could be finished, "Alright, I won't ask. I'm  _ telling _ you to dance with me."

Without waiting for Tannis to string together whatever insult she was certainly coming up with, she held her hands out expectantly. The other Siren glowered at her and Lilith was only half convinced that there was no way the look would cause her to drop dead on the spot. If anyone could bring the old "if looks could kill" phrase to life, it would be Patricia Tannis. For the time being she remained in one piece, with the beginnings of a cramp in her right arm from simply holding them out while she waited. It was a test of wills and Lilith had been told her entire life that she was as bull-headed as the most surly of bandits. 

"Come on, there's nobody else here." Lilith pointed out, "I'll walk you through it."

Those sharp, green eyes looked from her outstretched hands to the floor about a dozen times. She knew the answer before asking the question, but something in Lilith's heart kept her standing there. The tiniest glimmer of hope mixed with a dash of this dreadful bout of pining. Eventually Tannis let out a sigh heavy enough to bowl over a Goliath and rose from her seat, wavering a good deal along the way. She lifted her hands up towards Lilith and grimaced.

"Fine, but I will  _ not _ be holding your hands." She said stiffly, her fingers already dancing an anxious rhythm against her palms.

"I can work with that." Lilith grinned and quickly flipped through what she could remember about slow dancing, "We can, uh...well, do an untraditional slow dance. Maybe just sway a bit and move around?"

"Is that not what all dancing is, essentially?"

"Beats me."

She delicately grabbed a hold of Tannis' wrist and placed it on her hip. There wasn't much to feel, as the fingerless gloves she so often wore only added another layer between them, but Lilith imagined she could feel the warmth pressing there regardless. Tannis didn't meet her eyes and there was a blush beginning to pepper her skin. It only served to bring attention to the light layer if freckles Lilith often overlooked. They were rather cute up close, a revelation that only served to make her own face heat up in turn. At least Tannis wouldn't look up to see that and wonder  _ why _ .

"Can I hold this hand," Lilith asked while carefully holding it up by the glove, "If I make sure our skin doesn't meet?"

To answer, Tannis cautiously slotted their fingers together. The ends of the leather stopped just below her knuckles and that meant they could in fact manage to hold hands without their skin touching. It certainly made the entire thing easier that way.

"Actually, wait, your other hand should go up here around my back.  _ My _ hand should go on  _ your _ hip."

"Have you ever done this?" 

Lilith blustered, "Yeah, like once-"

Tannis just raised an eyebrow at her.

"-and I was drunk at the time, but it's fine. I know what I'm doing."

She distracted them both by attempting the first few steps of the dance, perhaps a bit too hastily. Tannis moved as stiff as a board and was practically jerked around for a solid minute. Just as Lilith began to settle on the idea that this wasn't going to work in the slightest, the other Siren seemed to get it suddenly. They were, essentially, doing the same few movements in awkward half circles around the room. Tannis was well-versed in figuring out the patterns of a good puzzle, which...surprisingly enough meant she memorized the steps too. So long as Lilith didn't throw in anything fancy, they were actually managing to slow dance. 

Or at least what she could recall of a slow dance, but she wasn't about to split hairs during a triumph like this.

The song seemed to last forever and Lilith couldn't find it in herself to care. Tannis watched their feet with a careful concentration, occasionally glancing around the room too, to keep from bumping into anything. Her eyes were interesting to study up close- Lilith had always assumed them to be just green. From this distance she could see a ring roughly a shade darker near her pupils and a smattering of golden-brown flecks throughout the rest of it. They were startlingly beautiful, so much softer in this light. For a split second they met her own golden ones, before darting off to the side again. 

"What are you thinking?" Tannis queried with a tilt of her head. 

Lilith considered dodging the question before giving in, "You're really pretty, you know?"

"I suppose complimenting your partner is a requisite of this sort of dance? Well, others have often stated your physical appeal as well."

"I- what?" She sputtered stupidly, trying to ignore the way hearing the word 'partner' made her stomach flip.

Tannis narrowed her eyes, "What was that simple way you put it? Ah, you are "really pretty", Lilith."

It was such a basic statement. The kind of thing Lilith was used to hearing from others in passing, because hey, she  _ was _ pretty damn attractive. But hearing it from Tannis was enough to yank the rug out from under her feet. Had she really even meant the compliment? Lilith couldn't tell, and honestly, that didn't matter to her in the slightest. Just hearing the words once was enough for now, however truthful they may happen to be. The stutter in her step must have been enough to betray her, as Tannis pulled away and eyed her nervously. 

"Have I overstepped?" She asked, with the expression of someone who was used to being treated as though she knew no social graces. 

"N-no, of course not."

Lilith cursed internally and struggled to figure out just how she was going to fix this. Should she just come clean? Would  _ she  _ be the one overstepping then? Tannis watched her with a sort of wary curiosity. Going over what had been said and done between them, calculating what the most likely candidate for offense was. If Lilith didn't come up with  _ something _ , then their budding friendship might truly be dashed this time. She had no idea what sort of conclusion Tannis might come to when left to her own devices. In the background, another pop song began to blare around them. So much for that slow dance.

"I just- " Lilith fumbled her words and cursed internally, "I was caught off-guard. Nothin' you did wrong."

Tannis nodded stiffly, looking as though she didn't completely believe that, but also wasn't willing to pry any further. They'd already pushed the boundaries of her social tolerance pretty far this evening. After a moment she shuffled away and continued on with her work. Another few minutes and she'd probably forget Lilith's presence entirely. The thought made her heart twinge a bit, but that was something she'd have to get over herself. Even if Tannis and her ended up together, she had  _ never _ been particularly fond of other people and dating wouldn't magically change her affection level. 

Lilith knew undoubtedly, however, that this night was going to change the way she looked at their relationship. It had been a long time since she'd felt as happy as that stupid dance left her. There was no denying the fact that she'd fallen head over heels for Patricia Tannis. Figuring out how to date her wasn't going to be easy, but Lilith didn't care in the slightest. 

They'd find a way to make it work. 

**Author's Note:**

> You know when you think of a short prompt that shouldn't even break 500 words? Well apparently I dont know how to do that and all of my shit just ends up full of useless fluff
> 
> regardless, if you wanna see my writing before its posted here or just my shitposts, my borderlands tumblr is tannithvibes!


End file.
